http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/action/castlevaniacurs...

They made one Sath. And like Iso said, they ruined it.

Thing is though, Castlevania isn't really an action game like Ninja Gaiden, even less so like DMC. I suppose they could do a complete overhaul and get compared to those two, but I think the core Castlevania fanbase would be a little upset.

Truth is, Castlevania these days (starting with the topical SoTN) have more in common with Metroid.

Metroid Prime could've gone outright first person shooter with all the blasting that comes with that genre, but it stayed firmly adventurous, hence being in essence the same game but in three beautiful dimensions.

I think the reason 3D Castlevanias have been failing is that Konami are a bit rubbish at them, not neccessarily because it won't ever work in 3D. The mindset has been the right one, with games employing essentially the same main tasks as Castlevanias should, but they just fall short when it comes to making any of it particularly engaging.

Legend of the Mystical Ninja?

I just downloaded it and afte doing the free demo i bought it.. I haven't played this Castlevania yet and i really enjoy it so far... I just got my "soul of the wolf" power, just have no idea what i can do with the wolf form yet :S

I don't think the series translates well into 3D at all, and they should basically stop trying. There are only two good Castlevania formulas really--the bad ass old school formula that is somewhat restrictive in movement but challenging and highly engaging in its own right--and the Metroid style formula where this game represents the first in that trend. I realise that Metroid made it into 3D pretty successfully, but to me that game isn't really any more Metroid than Devil May Cry is Castlevania. That maybe a bit of an exadgeration, but I still don't really care for Prime's design that much personally. Movement/Aiming is a big turnoff for me--but maybe that's because I love real FPS games--I believe the franchise would have been much better off if treated with a third person design personally.

Basically, if they want to make 3D action/adventure games out of Castlevania, they're better off dropping the franchise name and doing something original. Keep on making classic Castlevania games (both styles) on portables and DLC marketplaces instead. The brand name is not so powerful anymore that they really need to attach it to a game just to sell it--and these last couple of games while decent attempts just aren't Castlevania.

SotN is a great game. I won't be picking this version up as I've played it a a ton already, and plan on buying the remixed version along with Dracula X Chronicles instead. They should bring DracX to XBLA too :)

If you want a Castlevania game that plays like Devil May Cry, you're just better off playing Devil May Cry anyway--Konami isn't going to top that. If you want Castlevania, play this or play the DS games or play Dracula X Chronicles on the PSP. They're all much better options.

Well, I being of the firm opinion that Metroid Prime is one of the finest games there are, period, I'll refrain from making comments in regards to that. :D

But anyhoo, I think any game works in 3D if approached from the right angle with a real understanding of what can transistion well from one.. er.. dimension to the other. It's obviously never gonna be the same, I mean that would make the process pointless, but it could certainly be exactly the same - but different. :)

I think the real reason for going into 3D with a 2D franchise should be to use the format for doing things differently while staying true to its roots. Things go wrong when they're doing the same thing but on a Z axis just to catch the eyes of the punters.

Edit:

I should also add some controversy by saying I think Ninja Gaiden is a "terrible" 3D adaptation of a 2D action game. It's a brilliant game of course, far better than the 2D games were (despite their coolness), but it's a re-imagination of the franchise rather than a 2D game brought to life in 3D.

You sir, are out of your mind. Ninja Gaiden did a far better job at brining the series into three dimensions than Metroid Prime could ever dream of. Finest games there are..er..no. Exactly the same but different..er, NO! (come on now--that's just a complete contradiction) It is almost impossible to bring 2D games "to life" in 3D (imo)--the best attempts are all rather poor if you ask me. At least Ninja Gaiden feels like it's a Ninja Gaiden game, despite being okay with the fact that it's completely different. How well has Sonic made the transition into 3D--and how well does that hold up against other original 3D platforming games? Not very well, I think.

Sure it's been done somewhat well in the past (Mario, Rayman, hell Metal Gear all come to mind) but I think companies are much better off going ahead with new IP rather than trying to keep a franchise alive forever. Castlevania's greatness will never come across in 3D, ever. They're better off sticking to what they do best.

PS. The 2D Ninja Gaiden games are greatness. Well, NG1 and NG2 (NES) are, at least.That's a damn good transition too. I didn't mean to make it sound like I'm completely against the concept, but it fails more often than it succeeds..especially when we're talking about Castlevania. They could totally make Metroidvania Prime--but it would suck--so I'm glad they're not.

Both in terms of pure quality of the games and in terms of quality of an adaptation we simply have to disagree.

Ninja Gaiden is one of the sharpest action games made, but it still doesn't retain any of its predecessors' feel. None. It does not feel like a Ninja Gaiden game, and if you reckon it does, then go ahead and make DMC out of Castlevania, because that would be just as accurate.

It's pointless to argue with you about Metroid Prime, especially when some of your arguments are as flimsy as "I prefer FPS, therefore the Zelda approach to targeting is wrong" it's difficult to find enough footing here. It's brilliant's all I can say. The sheer immersion of it all, the handcrafted locales with extreme attention to detail (detail you'll NOTICE, since you're not strafehopping around trying to precision shoot anything)

Dammit, there I go trying to argue anyway! *slaps self*

So anyway, I'll head back to Ninja Gaiden again.

I'm not saying that game isn't brilliant (in fact I SAID it's brilliant) but if any game could've been another IP alltogether it's that. A much better adaptation (understand that I'm making a distinction between game and adaptation) is Shinobi in my opinion. That retains its hardcore old school feel in killing opponents with one slash, having really tough platforming elements and being all about going from point A to point B.

Ninja Gaiden is like a Zelda with DMC combat in essence. It's way too deep to be an adaptation of its 2D predecessors, and it's simply a new, entirely different and better game.

As for the originals being greatness - of course they are. They're fucking ninja games in 2D - what do you expect? :O

Apart from Wrath of the Ninja.. that was really slow and dumb.

Yes I prefer having proper camera controls in 3D space--especially when I'm using a first person camera. I'm not saying that it's a bad game, but it doesn't click well with me period, and I think it would have come across much better (for myself) if it were third person. I've always seen the game as a third person adventure (down to the controls/gameplay) with a first person camera, and I just don't think that's a good idea.

And I don't know..I think Ninja Gaiden is a fine adaptation of the original games feel. It's fast and difficult action with elements of platforming as well (though they're not particularly strong). Sure there's some additional depth there, but I don't think there's anything wrong with that. As far as I'm concerned it's just as close to feeling like the original franchise as Shinobi is. It's not quite Zelda with Ninjas.

GTA's moved into 3D extremely successfully and is a much deeper game than its predecessors too--still feels like GTA though. Not really trying to make a point with that one..just thought of another really successful transition worth mentioning.

But really--none of that has anything to do with Castlevania. Every single 3D game that Konami has done in the series is basically trash, and I think they should give it up and concentrate on good 3D controls and gameplay with original content. They really need to focus on what making 3D action/adventure games with great gameplay is all about..they need a better foundation there. MGS is the only franshise (imo) that they've really done extremely well with in 3D--even as good as Silent Hill is, the way it handles really isn't a strong point.